Verkhovna Rada Committee on State Building, Regional Policy and Local Self-Government recommends Ukrainian Parliament adopt draft law "On amendments to some legislative acts of Ukraine" (as to voluntary unification of territorial communities) as a basis

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Chairman A.Parubiy at talks with British armed forces minister

(&nbspInformation Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat&nbsp)

There took place a meeting of
the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy with Mark
Lancaster, Minister of State for the Armed Forces

The Chairman of the
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expressed his gratitude for the support provided by
Great Britain to Ukraine, for the assistance, in particular, of British
military instructors rendered in training of Ukrainian servicemen.

He appreciated the British
experts’ assistance in drafting the law on national security and defence,
which, he hoped, would be passed next plenary week by the Parliament of Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian
Army remains to be a key element of the country’s defence.I believe that the newly reformed armed
forces will be the guarantor of peace for Central and Eastern Europe.By this line of reasoning, joining NATO is a
critical security element for us," emphasized the Speaker of the Verkhovna
Rada during the meeting.

A.Parubiy then
stressed that for Ukraine "the issues of supporting Ukrainian political
prisoners and exerting pressure on Putin to release them remain to be highly
important".

The Parliament’s
Speaker pointed out the need to maintain and expand sanctions against Russia,
as "any tolerance in sanctions is considered by Putin as weakness".

The Minister of State for the Armed Forces Mark Lancaster greeted the guests from Ukraine and
emphasized that "the support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is a mutually
beneficial cooperation".He
expressed his condolences to Ukraine over the daily casualties in the conflict
zone.

The Minister showed
his interest in Ukrainian reforms and in reshaping the Armed Forces of Ukraine
particularly.

The parties
discussed launching a think tank for combating joint threats from Russia.

"To understand
the ongoing war, one must realize that its military component is not the only
one, and the lion's share of the hostilities sit in information challenges and
cyber threats," said A.Parubiy.

During the meeting,
the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada stated that "he firmly opposes the North
Stream2".Andriy
Parubiy remarked on that for Ukraine "Great Britain’s position on the North
Stream issue is of utter importance".

A.Parubiy notified
the other side that the anti-corruption court law had been finally passed, and
now "all efforts will focus on preparation of the law that will frame the groundwork
for reforming the entire security sector of Ukraine".

"We are not a
grey zone, but the shield of Europe.We are
safeguarding the whole continent, and in this context any support we receive
from you is of high significance," underscored the Speaker of the
Ukrainian Parliament.